Books by A M Dassu and Helen Comerford nominated for the 2025 Carnegies

A M Dassu’s Kicked Out: A Boy, Everywhere Story (Old Barn Books), Helen Comerford’s The Love Interest (Bloomsbury YA) and Yaba Badoe’s Man-Man and The Tree of Memories (Zephyr) are among the 119 books nominated for the 2025 Carnegies.

Of the titles nominated for the children’s book awards, 64 books are in contention for the Carnegie Medal for Writing, which is awarded to a book written in English for children and young people which "sparks an outstanding reading experience". Moreover, 55 books are in the running for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration, including three titles that have received nominations in both categories.

The Carnegies are organised by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), the UK’s library and information association, and judged by librarians. CILIP invited nominations for the 2025 Carnegies from its members, as well as external bodies like BookTrust, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education, the National Literacy Trust and The Reading Agency, among others.

Each nominated book will now be read by the judging panel, which comprises 14 librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group (YLG). The longlists will be announced on 12th February 2025, with the shortlists revealed on 11th March and winners crowned on 19th June 2025.

Meanwhile, the Shadowers’ Choice Awards, voted for by children and young people who take part in the Awards shadowing scheme—a reading for pleasure initiative which engages children through "shadowing" reading groups—will also take place in 2025, with the shadowing starting 12th March. The aim is to get young people to engage with the shortlists through group participation and by taking part in creative activities and online events. Taking on the role of judges, the groups will vote for their favourite books to receive the Shadowers’ Choice Award at the winners’ ceremony in June.

Registration for shadowing groups is now open and group leaders can opt in to receive a free publicity pack when the shortlists are announced in March.